Hope
by W.Kathy
Summary: What many manga-lovers would hope to be.....inside FB's story! No Mary-Sue character, but expect lots of twist and turns in the fic!High rating for future chapters. DISCONTINUED


In case you have read my other fiction, I just want to say that at this point, all inspiration for CCS ficcies has been lost – gone with the wind, for a lack of better term. Not that I have stopped loving the manga because I suspect I never will do. Only that CCS was my first crush and I have moved on to the wonderful worlds of the other manga.

Fruits Basket, a touching series with mouth-watering bishounens just wouldn't stop spinning in my mind. So here it is- my first FB fic.

Thanks for putting up with all my rambling. Here goes – "Prologue: Just Another Day"

Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket, duh. 

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**Title: HOPE**

**Prologue: Just Another Day?**

As I trudged aimlessly, dragging my feet wearily along the wet pavement that at the moment seems to be isolated, I silently recounted the day's events.

There was that usual struggle to get myself out of a warm bed to a cold rainy morning out in the streets, where the school bus would take me to the dreaded place that serves only to rob all young enthusiastic minds of their own will and freedom. That sentence ought to give you a good idea what I think of attending a High School, wasting my youth on a boring and useless façade that mask itself to be an academic gathering of intelligence where all people between the age of 16 to 18 can be _educated. _Yeah right, if you could call how the teachers ignoring their students' questions and imposing both their thoughts and opinions on their students _education._

Today, the same happened. I brought up a doubt on the theory that our Geography teacher, Mr. Cohen, I was ignored as usual. After a while, I simply gave up and pretended to take notes while doodling my favourite manga character at the edge of the foolscap paper. _Shigure Sohma_. Those two words are enough to make me drool, as his image would automatically be called to the top-consciousness of my mind. His dark, mysterious eyes and teasing smile never fail to hold me in rapture. Oooooh~ not to mention all those silky ebony strands that my fingers wish to be running through in eternity. Stuck in a dream-like state where I imagined being in Shigure's embrace, I failed to notice the loud booming voice of Mr. Cohen and the snickerings of my unsympathetic classmates until a sharp rap on my desk awoke me rudely. 

"MS. LAKE!"

Blushing in embarrassment, I muttered, "Sorry" The lack of insincerity did not escape Mr. Cohen's notice. He was about to say something, probably one of his famous sarcastic remarks when his beaded eyes saw the drawing I had of Shigure before I fell into a pleasant daydream. 

"Oh, and what exactly is this, Ms. Lake?" He fastened a searing gaze at me that both expressed anger and amusement – anger at not paying in his class and amusement that I had been caught in a really awkward situation. 

"Uh…….nothing, Mr. Cohen." My throat was suddenly dry and words were swirling around my panicky mind uselessly. 

Holding up the piece of foolscap with my beloved Shigure on it, he sneered and asked. "This doesn't look like nothing, does it, class?"

The snickering grew and a few snorts could be heard. Meanwhile, I was about to die in embarrassment. I was about to blurt out another apology, just to get myself out of the situation faster, when a shredding could be heard. Right in front of my shock-filled eyes, Mr. Cohen was tearing the picture of Shigure into half. Letting the pieces flutter to the ground and stomping on them, he drawled, "Now that this offensive piece of thing is gone, perhaps you would be more inclined to pay attention." He made a movement as if to turn, but stopped. "Oh, and that guy looks just ugly, but suiting your childish and terrible tastes, no doubt." 

Anger boiled and forced the shout out of my mouth.

"STOP IT YOU BASTARD!" I couldn't stand it. I just could stand it. How dare he insult my Shigure, and even tear his gorgeous face into half?  Call me obsessed, call me crazy, but Manga, and Shigure in particular, has provided me with a refuge my mind desperately needed for my entire miserable life. Having an Auntie who has been forced to adopt me due to my parents abrupt deaths, and who view me as something that belongs with the dirt in the ground is not a happy growing up experience. The rest of the _family_ was worse, if possible. Thus the imaginary world of Manga, of Fruits Basket, is something where I can nurse my lonely, cold heart into something that will function on a daily basis. Destroying a drawing of Shigure is like tearing a dearest family member's photo to me. I will not tolerate such a thing.

Mr. Cohen's mouth was gaping, so did the rest of the class. I was perceived to be a ditzy and distracted student, if somewhat unusually quiet but not rude and certainly not rebellious. As this image was shattered, there was silence, but Mr. Cohen recovered soon. "WHAT DID YOU CALLED ME?" 

Feeling the anger grow instead of abating, I stared defiantly and gritted my teeth. "If you would like me to repeat that, very well. BASTARD. You destroyed my drawing; you deserve to called what you are."

That evidently didn't sit well with Mr. Cohen, who had by now a red face and veins popping up his normally pale face.  Without waiting for his reply, I gathered my things, cast a quick sad glance at the remnants of Shigure's picture and strode out of the classroom, out of the school.

That brought me to present, wandering along the streets, not knowing and not really caring where I am. My stomach growl in protest, and I remembered that I had not eaten anything since last night's pitiful fare of dinner. A glance around showed that there's nothing remotely resembling an eatery nearby. In fact, it seems to be a large park sitting at the edge of a forest. At this time of the day, there wasn't a soul to be seen. Dejectedly, I sank into a swing and stared at a bird that's twittering happily and hopping around on the branches of a rainforest tree. 

"What's there to be happy about?" I wondered out loud. Not for the first time, I wished that I could disappear from the face of earth. At the corner of my vision, I caught a movement. And my eyes grew as large as saucers. 

A greenish glow the size of a basketball was in mid-air, spinning closer and closer. "EEEEKS! WHAT THE HELL….." The rest of my words died into an eerie silence when a small figure flew out of the glow. 

"Hello!" The figure is actually a little girl with wings, dressed in a frilly pink dress that shimmers distractingly. 

My mouth opened and closed but nothing came out. A classic example of shock. 

Sighing, she floated closer and explained patiently. "My name is Rene, and as you can clearly see, I'm not from your world."

I nodded, my shock subsiding, and curiosity took over. 

"Are you a fairy?" I asked tentatively, still not entirely believing I'm not in another of my daydreams.

"I guess you and those who live in this world would call me that. The reason I'm sure is to grant your wish." She smiled cheekily and added, "We only do this for those who are obsessed enough with our world, and you seem to be in totally deep, from your performance in school today."

"Huh?" I scratched my head in puzzlement. _Grant my wish? Obsessed with their world? _The more I know, the less I seem to understand. 

"Yup, you are about to be transferred into the world of Fruits Basket, permanently." With a wave of her dainty hands, I felt darkness growing in my vision, and then I lost all consciousness. 

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To be continued……

Please R&R, I would love to hear what you think! 


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